


Side Stories Of a World On Fire

by tsukkuyomi



Series: Twilight of the Power [2]
Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge, Power Rangers Jungle Fury, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, Power Rangers Time Force, Power Rangers Wild Force
Genre: Gen, NOW HAS FLUFF, Oh My God, Other side of the story, Suicide mention, an expansion on an event in an ri chapter, and a few other people, angst with a side of angst with a large order of more angst, companion piece to ranger's initiative, death mention, except it ISN'T, four chapters and one is fluffy, gun violence mention, heckyl runs into fire, just a bit of a palate cleanser, monsters and predators, semi speed chess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23978902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukkuyomi/pseuds/tsukkuyomi
Summary: Not everything has to be a major battle. Not everything requires an epic telling. Some stories are smaller, some stories are lighter, some stories are about villains and some stories about what the heroes do when they're not being heroes.But every story matters.(A series of oneshots in the universe of The Ranger's Initiative)
Series: Twilight of the Power [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901845
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. You Either Die a Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oneshot set between Chapter 15 and 16 of The Ranger's Initiative:
> 
> Genre: Angst
> 
> Evil and good is in the eye of the beholder and the perspective of the viewpoint characters. While the Renegades suffer through their own ordeals, the government Rangers have their own problems to deal with. And nothing is more painful than the ideal of men who try far too hard to tell themselves they are doing right. It's not hypocrisy if it's desperation, simply sad and dark.
> 
> "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain."-Harvey Dent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This is born of a few things. A suggestion to make a ".5" chapter, which they suggested as being fluffy but I'm an asshole so of course this is what came to mind instead. In addition another person wanting certain important characters to show up, so now they have and not for the last time I promise; it's just hard to have the government characters show up when the focus is on the Renegades and their fucked up lives. But also I wanted to do more with Jason. He's not entirely evil, he's an idiot and he's a fool and well, just read the story you'll see. Hopefully this still ended up being good; don't kill me if it didn't. In addition it explains the whereabouts of a few other characters and gets into a problem that will continue into the foreseeable future.
> 
> It would be best if you've read RI to understand a lot of what's going on here though you might still be able to enjoy it without the monster that is RI first. Tsuki and Astor are mine; Katina belongs to the lovely Shou; Ileana belongs to Ash. The canons belong to their actors and the Power Rangers franchise.
> 
> Anyway hope you enjoy, and remember: kudos are love, comments are welcome, and bye-bi until the next installment of RI is put up~)

The urge to throw his helmet at the wall was far too tempting to resist and it took a lot more out of Jason to do so without throwing it literally through said wall than it would have taken to just take a deep breath. But it wouldn't have been nearly as satisfying and as he heard the loud thud it made when it made contact with the paint and drywall, the familiar sound of cracking that meant he'd done some damage, and then the clank of the same helmet hitting the ground, he felt a little tension leave his chest. Just a little.

He was starting to forget how long it had been since this whole ordeal started, each day moving into the next and melting into one giant mess. It felt like a lifetime, eons since everything had begun, since that boy died, since that day in Reefside. Yet still the man could remember all too clearly when the Power had returned to him, a memory engraved in the darkness behind his eyelids that all he needed to summon it forward was to close his eyes.

_The Renegades were supposed to lose there. This was supposed to be the end of their resistance and fighting. Jason knew that Tommy wouldn't be able to resist the bait of a team being sacrificed like so obviously was being done with the Samurai kids. The man could barely resist getting involved when it was just a case of the Power being woken up; when it came to Rangers being in trouble it seemed he had a dire need to always stick his nose where it didn't belong. There had been a time when Jason might have admired that, when he had appreciated his care. A time when Jason didn't feel so angry just looking at his old best friend._

_A collection of military personnel, all the ex-Rangers who had chosen to do the right thing rather than try to fight, a practical and literal army against what, a bunch of hasbeens and children, people who should have just given up when they got the chance. It had been easy enough to hack their communicators, and there was a new wave of irritation that came when he had been told that the ones Tommy and his core group of four, those first five who had attacked the NASADA compound, were theirs. The original communicators. And Tommy was wearing the red one. But it was all okay when he saw the way Tommy reacted, to his words, to his presence, to the device that let him control the Samurai Rangers' handcuffs; he didn't really plan on poisoning them to death, that was a bit overboard even he would axknowledge that, but he needed to make sure they didn't leave. He just wanted them to surrender, to come with them and agree to being taken in, registered, properly helped; wasn't it so much better than being fugitives like they were? Wasn't it better than hiding out on some ship outside the atmosphere, coming down for small trips, having to suffer and hurt? Why couldn't Tommy and the others just recognize how much Jason wanted to help them?_

_The massive fight that erupted was to be expected, if not one he didn't really wish for either. But Tommy had perfected the art of being the prophet of the Rangers it seemed and the things he had brought up had made Jason more than willing to fight him. Because the ex-green had no idea what he was talking about in the end and he didn't understand just how much Jason was sacrificing to try and save as many of them as possible. Even as he had pressed down on the button, causing Jayden and his team so much pain, suffering, anguish, even as Tommy screamed at him to stop and Jason told himself the pounding of his own heartbeat in his ears, the little voice screaming in the back of his mind that told him to stop, that it was all for the sake of the ones who would survive. For his friends, for the innocents they had hurt and could continue to hurt, for even the Renegades themselves. Ends justified the means and surely Tommy with his soft heart would give in before the poison could actually complete it's job..._

_But the remote was broken in the battle and the Rangers were hurt and then that girl, that girl arrived and Jason only realized it when it was too late. When a soldier in their zeal had taken up their gun and taken aim. When a blot of red matching the communicator the ex-green now wore started to form and even Jason wasn't sure what to do for a moment. She screamed and it was a sound that echoed through his body but he had been unable to do much more than stare; this was not supposed to be what happened, Tommy was not actually supposed to be killed. He could only stare as she took Tommy in her arms, held him, cried for him, and Jason found he had already forgotten what tears were. His eyes had moved to Illeana and she was busy fighting soldiers, not daring to look over at him. Things weren't supposed to go this way but there was nothing he could do, that any of them could do._

_Yet that girl tried and she succeeded in something, a disaster in the making. Lights and colors and everything turning in hell on earth and Jason just remembered trying to fight, make use of the return of his powers, but the Galaxy Pink stopped him and Billy called out his name and everything was just so...wrong. That's how he felt at least, like it was all wrong and Ileana....Lana, had tackled him. Maybe he deserved that but he wasn't sure he deserved Merrick's foot and when he woke the Renegades were gone and everything was just so very, very wrong._

“I can understand being frustrated but try not to destroy your surroundings in the process.” He knew that voice, pulling him out of his memories, and a trail of ice slipped down his back as the red took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

When he'd first met her, Jason had thought Senator Katina van Dran was actually a rather lovely lady, beautiful, obviously more than capable, a sophisticated force in a government sent into chaos by the Child's death and the Ranger troubles. He remembered thinking how good it was in the end that she was one of the two most involved in the Initiative. She was easily as charming as Senator Morgan and more than happy it seemed to take charge, and in the beginning they had needed that. They needed someone to guide them, when everything seemed so chaotic. She took easy charge of things.

Too easy. He quickly started to understand a few things, one of which was not to trust her or the smile that graced her face as she stood mere steps away, her arms crossed over the professional but designer dress she wore, manicured nails tapping lightly against her bare forearm. As always she was well put together and Jason was left feeling like a mouse being watched by a python, a wholly unpleasant feeling.

As soon as his attention moved to her, her smile grew. Slowly she moved, stepping past him to lean down and pick up his helmet. Katina offered it to him and he contemplated for a moment not taking it, but the red told himself that was far more dangerous than the contrary. He reached out, careful not to actually touch her and with a clear robotic “thanks” he took it back/

“You look upset Jason; what is on your mind?” she asked in a friendly manner.

“The usual, Senator van Dran,” he said, “The Renegades are still on the loose, we still have Rangers unaccounted for, new enemies have made themselves known and there's too much to do.”

“Then I would be correct in guessing you still haven't captured any of the Renegades?” He didn't answer and she sighed, “Which ones were present at the most recent conflict, may I ask?”

“All of them.” It seemed to be her turn to freeze and he didn't know whether he wanted to feel pleased or not.”

“All of them...including-”

“No,” Jason said before she could finish, “No, she wasn't present,” he knew all too well what this woman was after.

Katina's smile slipped some and she shook her head. “No...of course not; why would they risk putting an asset in danger over a little quarrel?”

Amber Beach, though ultimately minimal in damage, did not strike him as a 'little quarrel. Multiple Rangers, a sea of monsters, the apparent appearance of a new villain, it had been the kind of thing he would have nightmares about but he didn't sleep much anyway. But this was his opinion and Katina didn't want his opinion; Katina wanted results and she wanted the essence of the Morphing Grid under her control. The reestablishment of the Power to all living Rangers had been a mixed bag of blessing and curse; Jason had become more damgerous with the ability to use his red and his gold powers, and rounding up the last of the unaffiliated Rangers, even with their own powers to contend with, had become easy enough. Save a few stragglers and one particular team. But at the same time the Renegades had their powers as well and had made good use of them. Many of the Rangers who had chosen to be imprisoned rather than help hunt their comrades had run the gambit of responses: Trini nearly broke out and had to be sedated; Conner took to trying to make a run for it every time his door was opened. Some became strangely and violently ill, believed to be a reaction to their sudden deaging more than anything else. He had been there at the NASADA building, two days after the courthouse incident, when a guard did something stupid and made things worse. In the guard's defense it had to be hard to distrust a child, even one who used to be a grown man and a Ranger. Some nights Jason saw Justin's face as he had held the gun to his head and pulled the trigger; those nights were the ones he could never go back to sleep.

“How did Taylor handle fighting?” Katina asked, changing the subject on him.

He bristled some and looked to his helmet. “She was fine.”

“Oh?” the senator responded, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't care if she didn't believe him or not. “If you'll excuse me, I need to go and I'm sure you have important work to be doing.”

She stared at him and he was aware of the caution with which he needed to use his words to keep from making her mad. Katina watching him carefully, moving once more with the same steady, drawn out steps; he worked hard not to step away from her, to keep from retreating or flinching as he felt her fingers touch his cheek. He'd been older than her before the courthouse; now he felt like that of a teacher dealing with a particularly troublesome child. Cold and uncaring. He allowed himself a deep breath and after counting the seconds he finally removed himself from her reach.

“I need to report to Senator Morgan,” he reiterated and he saw the tiniest of reactions in her, though it passed so quick he could never know what exactly it meant.

“What a coincidence, I need to talk to Astor as well,” she said half cheerfully.

Jason was annoyed but could say nothing. He knew better, he really did even if he didn't always feel like he did. He nodded and she took the arm not holding a Ranger helmet, forcing him into the role of her escort. Another cherry on top of an already frustrating day.

They headed out of the room, a lobby in the main compound from which they were currently headquartered. He honestly didn't care too much about the place, being unconcerned with it's existence, the mixture of military and politican and Ranger that walked in and out. Outside through a window he saw the California hills, and he was brought back to the knowledge that they were near Angel Grove though still outside city limits. When things began it had been decided that since most activity was in California that the base of operations needed to be near the same. When the Renegades started collecting members and causing trouble, it became important that the government had somewhere to go from. But none of that mattered to Jason in the longrun so much as the memories such a sight woke up in him and the way seeing those hills made him feel. Or the chill that filled him as he was dragged from those memories by the reminder of the present that was given by Katina pulling ever so slightly on his arm.

There were multiple areas in the compound; Jason's least favorite had to be this office. It had little to do with the décor, because in all honesty it was pretty stereotypical. The room had a strange combination of order and clutter that entirely felt planned. But as always the first thing that his eyes ended up falling on, exactly as was the intention no doubt, was the elegant chessboard that sat just slightly to the right of the path to the door. The black queen was surrounded by black pieces, the white knight was nearly in place to break through to take her, and the black king was in the middle of the board.

Astor stood over the board, fingers stroking a white pawn almost absentmindedly as he stared over the battlefield, and as also often occurred, Jason thought on how young the other man really was. He remembered that Astor was supposedly raised in Ocean Bluffs, lived through the tenure of the Jungle Fury team, had smoothly charmed the Senate and the populace into supporting his cause, his bill, the Protection for All Act. “The Ranger's Initiative” rang Kira's voice in his head. The senator was a force to be reckoned with in terms of charm and as they entered he seemed only to acknowledge their presence with the softest of smiles and an almost imperceptible movement of his fingers in a wave before picking up the piece. Jason wondered what the chessmaster had in his head and who his pawn was.

“Good afternoon Senator Morgan,” the red said in a low tone.

“Jason, you know I prefer Astor,” the senator mused in response, and lifting his gaze his eyes seemed to practically sparkle at them, “And Katina, you certainly look quite lovely today.”

“We did not come here for you to flirt,” she said smoothly and Jason somehow didn't notice her leave his side until she was already to the chessboard, picking up the white queen.

Astor chuckled but there was no humor to it. “No, I thought not. So tell me Jason; how goes things?”

He could ask for clarification but he needed none; there were a few of them, red rangers that was, on the government's side. But Jason was always leader. “Despite forewarning we did not arrive in time to be able to capture the Renegades and they seem to have acquired a brand new team, headed by the son of Abby Phillips, Tyler Navarro.”

“That certainly is troubling; you really failed to apprehend a single one of them?” The concern with which the male senator spoke only made the words sting more, but of course Astor was well aware of that.

“We did successfully neutralize multiple monster enemies,” he responded and felt like he was trying to make excuses, “And the museum their mentor operated was found to house a secret base, which makes it clear they have been in use for a while.”

“Yet no one noticed before.”

“Considering that much of our time has been focused on tracking the Renegades at this point, it's not too surprising. The museum was destroyed and the equipment and other contents of it's secret lab confiscated.”

“A shame though and quite the oversight,” Katina chimed in and turned to Astor, “Weren't your intelligence teams supposed to be looking out for any new activity?”

“I do believe that was left to your spies, my dear Katina,” Astor said without missing a beat, “But who's actually paying that much mind to such things? The point is that we seem to have further troubles and less solutions. I suppose then it would be too much to hope that that woman Tsuki has been captured, hm?”

“She has not been seen since the Incident,” Jason said slowly, “Tommy likely has forbidden her to leave the Megaship considering she's channeling the Grid right now.”

“A new Zordon so to speak,” Astor said and it took everything he had for Jason not to react; the senator watched him, clearly awaiting one.

The red bit his tongue, hard. “Any news on Briarwood?”

Two could play this game; both Astor and Katina stared and the room seemed to drop multiple degrees suddenly. The female senator was the first to recover, straightening herself up carefully and calculating each of her words. “No, unfortunately we haven't made much headway in breaking through the barrier they have erected. It's not as simple as the one at Tommy Oliver's house after all.”

No place had acted quite like the hometown of the Mystic Force Power Rangers had; when first the order went out that all Rangers were to report to the government, it alone stayed absolutely quiet. A quiet that quickly turned to deafening silence when they came aknocking only to find a massive magical barrier in their way. The city was no one's ally and the mystic forests helped neither Renegade nor military; they wanted nothing to do with the civil war that was slowly bubbling up into the mess it was now, and even with Rangers no one could break through. The once scattered Mystic Force team were all behind the barrier, protected but trapped at the same time. No one in, no one out; Briarwood had become it's own little mini world in the nestles of America and a curse word to both chessmaster and femme fatale.

“It is only a matter of time I think until we find our way in,” Astor spoke, no true inclination of worry in his mannerisms or tone, “They cannot hide behind their barrier forever.”

They would need to come out eventually and until then Briarwood was forbidden access to any of the resources it would normally get from the state and government. This was the underlying threat: to starve them out, deprive them of everything they normally had, and see them come running out. The alternative felt more and more likely though with each passing day.

Astor fiddled with the pawn for a moment more, unspoken thoughts moving through a dangerous mind. Katina was the one to break the silence, “Maybe some good news to break this awful discomfort? Andrew Hartford and his particular Ranger team have been apprehended at last and are all in containment right this moment.”

There was something to her voice that almost sounded giddy but Jason wasn't about to comment. And she did well to suppress it for the most part. He thought on what he knew about that team: Adam, Zack's replacement, had helped them at one point, as had at least two Renegades and one of Briarwood's own Rangers. The capturing of such a team had potential, something that he doubted escaped Astor's notice as well.

Conversation between the senators moved to more mundane things, and Jason felt safe enough to try to escape moving towards the door carefully.

“Oh that reminds me Jason.” spoke the voice of Astor and the red froze in place, the other man giving a kind smile, “I heard Captain Earhardt has been having some difficulties lately; if you could go check on her, I would certainly appreciate it.”

“Of course Senator,” he said stiffly before turning on his heel and leaving.

“I do believe that boy doesn't trust me much,” Astor said laughing lightly.

“Now why would that be?” Katina mused aloud, smirking at her compatriot.

Jason found Taylor where he always did; in the hangar, sitting on some boxes and staring at his Red Dragon Zord with a nearly unreadable expression. In her hands she held her Growl Phone, turning it over repeatedly mindlessly.

“Taylor,” he spoke carefully but aloud, doing his best not to startle her too much.

She snapped to attention and looked at him before nodding acknowledgement; he sat down beside her on another box.

“Something you need from me?” she asked, her voice cold and even.

“People are worried over you.”

“People huh?”

He shrugged, causing her to stare for a moment then turn away from him.

“I'm fine,” she muttered.

“The others aren't here,” he reminded her, looking at the Thunderzord and remembering that day again, “And I sure as hell won't judge you.”

She was silent at first. “...Do you think we're doing the right thing?”

He resisted the urge to snort. “Is that what's on your mind? Is this about the Ninja Academy?”

That had been a disaster and despite what Tommy or his friends might think, Jason didn't approve of it any more than they did. Overkill, an overuse of force and the ripples it caused through the Grid were felt in his bones. And that he knew to be nothing compared to what Taylor had to have felt, having been there, been involved. Pulled the trigger against a fellow Ranger.

“Before the Animarium stuff, I would never have thought to question orders,” Taylor said, as if he hadn't ever spoken, “Hell, even after, before this whole fiasco started I still wouldn't want to question orders. I do what I have to do, what I'm told to do, because that's what I'm supposed to do. There's no point in having a moral dilemma over small things. But then the Ninja Academy, and all I can think about is that I didn't mean to shoot him, I really didn't,” she clenched the morpher tight, “I didn't mean to kill him.”

“ _I don't want to kill you, Ethan; just come with us.”_ Jason was mentally thrown and for a second he was in a room, talking to another young man, and he remembered shaking. Tommy could hem and haw all he wanted but it was easier to pretend it didn't haunt his nightmares too, remembering how heavy the gun had suddenly felt and how sudden everything had been. He'd been there to capture Ethan and he didn't want to hurt him either. He was just so stubborn and unwilling and before the red had known what was happening the blue was down and that woman Hayley was screaming and he didn't want to admit the scars it left behind in him.

He forced himself back to the present and shook his head, turning his attention back to her. He wasn't all that sure when she had pulled out her animal crystal but there it was and there she was staring at it. And he knew that was the biggest problem for her. The heavily clouded, almost stone crystal that had once been the Eagle's crystal.

“Still nothing,” she whispered, “Eagle still won't talk to me,” he couldn't respond; he had no understanding of where he'd even begin to try to find the words, “I keep trying, calling out, but all I ever get is silence and I didn't know it could be so deafening hearing nothing. It's worse than when Zen Aku took the Bear Brothers, much worse, and I can't help but wonder if this is how Merrick felt when his Zords wouldn't communicate with him. And if I've become a monster too.”

“You're trying to protect people.”

“Is that what we're doing? Because it sure looks like no one is actually being protected in all this. Civilians, military personnel, Rangers; we're all suffering...no one is being protected...”

Jason frowned and turned away. “We're doing the best we can, Taylor.”

“Are we though?” Her tone was more exhausted than accusatory; more sad than angry. He glanced to see tears; she was a different team but that didn't matter, he was still a red and he still had a heart somewhere deep down. But no words left him on the subject, because he knew that Taylor likely would rather die than admit to crying.

“Do you know why I've done all this, why I choose to help the government instead of fighting them?” he asked her, getting silence as an answer, “I'm not military, I don't care much about politics unless it involves trying to bring about peace. And in truth that's a part of it; I want peace really, I want an end to the fighting, the warring, the chaos, the destruction. I want people to be able to live their lives without the fear of whether this will be the day that their town becomes the new battleground for the new war of good and evil. But it's more than that too.

“I dream, Taylor, of the first time I became a Power Ranger with my friends, so many years ago, but instead of victory I see them all dead before me. I dream of the day Lord Zedd came and destroyed our Zords, and I dream of failing to save Tommy's green powers. I dream of all the bad and sometimes I remember the good, I remember that we won and that Tommy was okay in the end and we got new zords. But every victory feels so small when yet another team appears to fight yet another great evil and damnit, if Zordon's death didn't eliminate the evil in the world, what the fuck was the point in him dying? Of us fighting so many enemies, having to skip out of class, miss activities we loved, get hurt, lie to the people around us, for what amounts to just seconds of peace. I used to be so proud of being a Ranger and now I can barely contain my anger and hatred because nothing we did ever really mattered. I'm sick and tired of it happening over and over and I want an end to it.”

“Taking in the Rangers would do that?”

“It's better than what we've been doing at least, better than thin lies and constant fighting on our own. It's better than being seen as heroes while we leave destruction in our wakes. It's better than fighting evil on our own.”

“You sound like you're trying to justify to yourself what you've been doing, and doing a terrible job doing so,” she said and he frowned at her, “You don't want fighting but you keep doing so anyway; you don't want death but you allow it to happen around you. You want peace but for it you're allowing a war to boil and fester around us. I don't want to kill anyone but I follow orders, even if it means killing my own heart; that's my reason for being here, even if I'm no longer sure it's a good one. But what's yours really, Jason?”

“I really just want all the fighting to stop,” he said and took another deep breath, “Even if it means destroying my old friends to get that.”

“But will what comes after really be the kind of peace we want?”

“It has to be. Or else we've both hurt a lot of people for what again ends up amounting to nothing.” Jason wanted to believe, had to believe in what was before him and what he had done. He had to believe he wasn't destroying everything for nothing, he had to believe this was all necessary to bring about peace, making deals with devils in hopes of protecting just a few of the angels. He had to believe lest the nightmares swallow him whole and his mind start to dance with the knowledge that he had thrown his girlfriend into jail, attacked his best friends, imprisoned allies, innocents, seen a boy kill himself, all for a peace that was slowly being corroded away by the poison he himself unleashed.


	2. Xanatos' Apprentices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Ranger's Initiative Chapter 17
> 
> Genre: General
> 
> In the aftermath of a tragedy, two monsters play a game and plot their next moves in their minds. Everything is according to their vicious plans.

The chessboard was set and the pieces were at the ready; the two stood across from each other, waiting it seemed for a cue but Astor made his move first and the game began.

_Pawn to E4._

"A shame about Briarwood." His words sounded consolatory but Katina was no fool. Not like the maniacs and blind idiots who had voted him into office, ate up the honeysweet words he practically purred at them without ever suspecting them of poison; those same idiots though had of course fallen for her own graceful and composed facade, never seeing the cruelty underneath. She couldn't attest to knowing all the dark corners of his plans but then again neither could he see hers.

She ran a slender finger along a pawn of her own then made her move, choosing to wait to speak until after. _**Pawn to E5**._ "Yes, it would seem things got a little too heated; some soldiers took exception to being attacked by the citizens and by their Mystic Force Rangers and the whole city ended up razed to the ground."

"So many lives unfortunately lost." _Bishop to E2._ "And on top of that none of the Mystic Force nor any of the Renegades were apprehended either."

 _ **Knight to F6**. _"In addition it seems Jason go pretty badly injured as well while confronting those outlaws; the left side of his face was covered in blood when Rocky helped him inside."

"Oh no, how horrible; I hope he's alright. Remind me later to check up on him," Astor mused sadly; _Bishop to D3,_ "Of course, when the people hear of the grievous attack upon Jason, that won't help the Renegades' image as a group. Especially following the events in Amber Beach and that raid on the Angel Grove Courthouse."

Those had been easy enough things to twist to their needs, hiding small facts and highlighting the parts that made things look far less about the aggression of their forces and more about the mistakes and actions of the Power Rangers who still resisted; Briarwood thought struck her as perhaps being more of a challenge and even Katina was willing to admit to having some interest in seeing what Astor planned to do with it. It wasn't like either of them were seriously surprised at the way things went. She had been certain that in some ways it even went according to his plans, as much as they did her own. The woman had given some effort in pulling strings, moving pieces so that when the time came the falling of the barrier would also be the fall of Briarwood. Some soldiers who were just a little too zealous about fighting, some pressure in the right places, and it all tumbled like a house made of straw before the big bad wolf. The Mystic Force team were supposed to die of course, or at least be captured, but their fighting back as they had, their magic used so recklessly to protect their home ending up as responsible for the destruction of said home as the guns that were fired and the strikes of their allied Rangers, these did have promise in helping to hide the real truth of what had happened. Briarwood was a tragedy; they'd play it up as one as well, albeit one that worked in their favor in the end.

Katina realized that much of what had happened was akin to the board before them, a lot like a chess game with each move having to be done just right to ensure a chance at winning. The main difference was who the pawns were and who the rulers were, and how useful the former was to the latter. Both her and Astor made use of the Power Rangers, and in indirect ways the Renegades too, but unlike Astor Katina saw the way Jason looked at them, at her. The wariness, the way he flinched, the way he stiffened; he was afraid of her, exactly the way she preferred it truth be told. Pawns should fear the queen in her opinion, who could as easily breathe as she could sacrifice them for greater power. That's all the Rangers were to her in the end, pawns and things to make use of. But a question at times floated past her mind, whispering behind the ideas and plots: whose pawns were they? Hers...or his? Because they certainly were not the types to share.

She wanted all the power; he stood in her way. He wanted all the control; she prevented that. They looked so friendly to each other from the outside, the media loved the two shining examples of morality and goodness in the Senate, Senator Astor Morgan and Senator Katina van Dran, benevolent, kind, working to protect the people, to bring safety in times when things only got more hectic every day. If only they saw the way they ate away at the chessboard, each move faster, more clipped, snapping at pieces and space like dancing cobras; he took her knight, she trapped his bishop. She kept swallowing up power and he kept dragging it from her claws. The Rangers were sent to Briarwood on his orders but it was Katina who had been the one to manipulate things to ensure those who were to back them up pushed things just a little too far. Strike the match, spread the sparks, fan the flames; the pawns and bishops and knights and rooks moved just as she wanted and crumbled to bits and that just left the king and queen.

The Renegades stood as the sole thorn. Tommy Oliver was a fool and nuisance, but he had the smartest of the original Power Ranger team with him and the embodiment of the Morphing Grid at his fingertips; the sole surviving Samurai Ranger stood by them, two full teams were on their side, a ship in outer space and the technology to jump about. More Rangers, more knowledge of what to do, of where to go, an army of their own and that strange voice over the radio that they still hadn't pinpointed. And no matter what the media said and the population at large thought, whatever Katina and Astor spun every disaster as, the outlaw Rangers continued to struggle and survive. _If only they'd died in the flames as well._

"Bishop to E3, check." She smiled with edges of poison. Even as she allowed herself to drift into thoughts the board had become set for her and anyone else might be trapped. But the other senator returned the happy expression and she thought of a spider high up in it's web.

"Knight to E3, takes bishop," he smoothly responded.

"Leading to Queen taking knight and check again."

"My dearest Katina, I never imagined you'd be so good at chess." _King to H1._

"From you Astor, that sounds remarkably like an insult." _**Knight to D3**._

 _"_ I assure you it's nothing of the like." _Pawn to A8, promotion to knight._

Right. That was their favorite game though now wasn't it? Friendly on the surface but a spider with it's fangs full of venom and a sleek Bengal cat with claws ready and sharpened. He could whisper sweet alluring words, she could purr and play nice, their words like honey, their intentions on the barest surface sincere but a predator knew a predator and the meanings behind either were not lost on the other. She remembered the first time she saw him and how the other senators spoke so kindly of him, but from the moment their eyes met she had known: he was a creature, a monster, who would devour the world before he would ever give it true peace.

Astor knew she's played the game to lead to nothing short of Briarwood's destruction.

Katina knew he'd facilitated the same to show why no one should dare oppose his will. But she didn't play to oppose; she wished to depose him. The Initiative, the Rangers, the Grid, the power; it would all be hers. If only she could capture that king.

"Only a few moves left," he spoke and sent his next pawn to their death. _Pawn to B6._

"So you say," she responded and let her rook crush the simple soldier, **_Rook to B6, capture pawn,_** "Is it just me or do you seem to be playing a little bit defensively, Senator Morgan?"

"Do you expect me to be aggressive? That would be rather rude to do to such a refined lady such as you." _Pawn to C8, promotion to bishop._

"I expect you to try to win; that very much sounds like your style." _**Queen to F3.**_

"You make me sound like a monster, saying I'd insult you, making it seem like I always want to win. I assure you I simply wish to enjoy the game; I'm not a villain, Katina." _Bishop to D7._

"You may smile like a saint but I can see your horns, Astor. And the way your fangs clatter together as you watch all the flies buzz around your pretty little web. It makes me want to see what you'll do if someone was to set it ablaze."

He laughed and it was maybe the most genuine she'd heard him. The laughter of a true monster, controlled, ruthless, insane. Dark eyes glistened with amusement and there was in his smile the fangs of a spider who'd caught food in it's web. No one else was there, no one else to hear, no one else to witness. The niceties could remain but in their moment of solitude, the puppeteers could let down their disguises and show the true faces, even just for a game. The woman grinned like the cat who trapped the canary and moved to block the bishop.

"Careful Katina; such words could get someone hurt if you're not careful. Bishop to E6, takes rook, check."

She stopped only for a second. The board was full of plays and it seemed that in her revelry she had forgotten that he lived for convoluted plans. Her plan might have unfolded but so too it seemed had his own, the two intertwined. If there was ever a physical manifestation of their interactions. But this was far from unwinnable and she was far from done.

"Don't you enjoy the challenge?" Too easy to escape that trap.

"From you? Always." It occurred to her that "a few moves" had passed long ago.

The quick moves returned and the field dwindled. Two predators circled and swallowed up all in their paths, all in the pretense of a game.

Until finally one smirked and cut the tension. "Checkmate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Don't ask, I just felt like writing this. It's a short bit but it wasn't meant to be long; just showcase some of more of the real villains of the RI verse.
> 
> I don't own Katina of course, didn't I already say that? Hopefully this piece wasn't too bad.)


	3. Unfair Justifications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Ranger's Intiative Chapter 17
> 
> Genre: Angst
> 
> What's worse: becoming monsters who turn their backs on everything they were because they truly believe, or suffering the agony of being heroes with blood on their hands?
> 
> AKA
> 
> As the spider king and predator queen play their game of chess, their pawns assemble and start to open their eyes, far too late to ever turn back now.

"Can we really stand behind this, any of it?"

It could be said that all it took was one thought to be breathed into the world to let it spread like wildfire. As such Jason could not say who birthed this particular thing but it had indeed covered the compound until everything was covered with the dust of gloom and doom. And for some reason he was the one having to listen to it all and take it in.

Briarwood was the match that burned the world to the ground; he had always known that the city would likely not stay standing, that it would not stand unscathed. It had resisted, rebelled, disobeyed Astor Morgan and the red knee too well that that was of course a death warrant signed. But when the barrier broke, when the first commands went out and the first shots flew, he had not expected the madness that would follow, or the pain it sent through them all.

Did the Renegades feel the pain too? Somehow Jason found himself doubting that; they probably had no idea what he went through every time a new fight happened, when one of them was pushed to do something that pushed against the things he knew to be right. Forced to let Rocky try to sew up the wound over his left eye, that was nothing compared to the gaping hole growing in his chest. The screams still echoed in his ears, the scent of smoke still clung to his nose; he could taste the blood in his mouth, like iron and death. He remembered the sight of people running, scrambling, and the ones who fought, who tried to defend the city, the Mystic Force Rangers. The ones who died first. It all equalled, became pain and he had to try to swallow best he could.

He wasn't sure who had spoken but he looked at the others in the room and figured it didn't matter either; it was all in their minds and hearts. After the genocide was over, the military and Rangers had returned to the base and Rocky brought him to an empty conference room to do first aid; Jason had appreciated the help, though a greater portion of his mind yelled how unworthy he was of it. Moments after they had settled and Rocky's strangely steady hands had started on the closing of the wound, the rest of the Rangers appeared, one by one. Jason thought they looked like a parade of the newly departed. 

“This is not...this is wrong, all of it; just plain wrong,” someone said it but Jason wasn't really paying attention to who exactly.

There were nods and murmurs but no one answered aloud; he was fairly certain it wasn't fear that stopped their words in the moment, or at least not the kind that involved being overheard. Rocky sighed beside him and the oldest red there understood in some way why.

“We made our choice,” Jason let his voice be heard and could feel the tension rise in response, words forming that seemed stiffled by confusion on how to even begin on that one; Rocky looked at him, he ignored it for the most part.

“We didn't choose to be complacent in genocide.” That time he was certain it came from Wesley.

“We did choose to help Senators Morgan and van Dran in bringing the other Rangers to justice,” the first Mighty Morphin Red spoke, “We choose to round up everyone else, to try to convince them to join us.”

That had been the choice at first: join those who allied themselves with the government or be incarcerated. It had been so easy at first, until Ethan, until the Reefside incident. Until Tommy Oliver had to play the would-be martyr and instead throw so much of everything into chaos, but what else did they expect him to do?

“When did that become killing innocents?” There, that was Ryan's voice; the Lightspeed Red looked conflicted, but Jason wasn't sure he had seen him not look so since the Courthouse fight, “We're supposed to protect people, Jason, we're supposed to save them. We just burned a city to the ground though, and for what? Because they didn't want to give up their Rangers, because they fought back?”

“This is not the choice we made,” Dana's voice piped up, though it was small and far away; she was covered in injuries that Jason didn't much feel up to questioning.

“Why would Senator Morgan allow this?” Rocky asked, shaking his head, “This can't be good for the Act or for the public's opinion of everything going on. This wasn't a justifiable battle like at the Courthouse or like at Amber Beach; this was a massacre through and through.”

“Senator Morgan ordered the attack; I'm sure he'll find a way to twist it however he wants,” Kelsey said, fingers digging into her arms.

Of that Jason had no doubt. This had been a massacre and it had been a horror show at that but the yawning chasm where his heart was refused to yield to his attempts to assure himself that he knew it. Because he also knew he had been aware long before they stepped foot near Briarwood that something horrible was going to happen there and he was going to be a part of it.

“So what do we do?” A question that was echoed in looks from everyone but only Carter actually spoke aloud, “We're Power Rangers, my team and I don't hurt innocents; we save them. And I don't think that's any different for you Rocky or Jason or Taylor or Wesley. We can't just stand back and be party to all this death and destruction.”

“Then would you rather the alternative?” Jason's voice was clearer than his vision at least and heads turned to him. “What do you think happens if we dismiss ourselves from everything now? We go neutral, or worse yet join the Renegades; what happens?”

“I think I speak for all of us when I say we don't really care if we die,” Carter answered but was cut off quickly.

“Then how about your friends? Your families? Your world?” The words came heavy and no one spoke but Jason. “Briarwood burned to the ground because they protected the Rangers outwardly. The Ninja Academy was bombed because they protected theirs secretly. The Renegades are hunted and vilified because they are Rangers and became they only want to protect others. The Samurai Rangers died because they willingly gave themselves over. Zack, Kim, Conner, they are stuck in cells, waiting to die and unable to do anything because they choose not to fight. There is not a single known Ranger in this time period who is unaccounted for save for one,” his gaze moved to Wesley but the Time Force Red as always never spoke on that subject, “We have to keep going, despite the pain, despite the contradiction, despite everything, because it's not our own lives on the line here and it never has been.”

“You also sound like you're saying that if we defected now that would mean the end of everyone else,” Carter spoke.

“You don't think Astor Morgan and Katina van Dran would order the incarceration of everyone who knows us if we tried?”

“You think they would stop there?” The fact Taylor, who usually stayed quiet through any sort of meeting, spoke up was a surprise and eyes turned to the yellow; she looked back at none of them, “The Ranger's Initiative was put in place to get all known Rangers under government control because we were deemed dangerous, dangerous enough that bombs and guns and tanks and full on military might has been enforced. They have us on their side to keep them from deeming all of us as lost causes; without that, without us, they would just do what anyone would do with something dangerous and uncontrollable.”

“Destroy it,” Jason continued for her, “Destroy us. Like the Samurai Rangers.” The remote had broken in the fight; he truly honestly had never meant for them to actually die.

“And destroy all traces of us, and the Power that created us, including the cities that got coated in essences of that power when we fought there to defeat evil and protect people.”

Ryan shook his head. “So you want us to stay because it's better than potentially the government deciding to say fuck it and destroying everything and everyone? They'd never do that; they're not insane, and that plan is-”

“Crazy,” Taylor completed, “Absolute madness and unlikely and only a sociopath who doesn't actually care about other people, who wants the world to burn more than they want actual peace and safety for people, a true monster would do something like that.”

“Someone who would order, and apparently have the power to make happen, an entire city be destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people murdered because they refused to relinquish a couple of teenage sorcerer Rangers and their mentor.”

Dead silence fell again. Jason let it set in. He wondered if they really hadn't realized just who they were working with; it seemed highly unlikely, more possible that they just didn't want to think about how far the monsters really would go to see the Rangers destroyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This was actually written before Xanatos' Apprentices but they happen at the same time. I could go into detail about this chapter but truth be told I really don't want to talk much about it or why I wrote it or the emotions involved in it. I mainly just hope people don't hate me for what I write and I promise the next oneshot will be happier, if I ever get it done. Also the next chapter of RI is on it's way as well; I just occasionally need to work on other things (related still to that world apparently) to clean my palate
> 
> Until next time though, bye-bi)


	4. Lesson Number One in Being a Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Ranger's Initiative Chapter 15
> 
> Genre: Fluff/Hurt and Comfort
> 
> "Like an Oak I must stand firm  
> Like bamboo i bend in the wind"
> 
> RJ takes the inexperienced and tries to teach them like the good teacher he is. This is only lesson one of many for them.  
> And in the aftermath, old wounds open and something reawakens.

Tyler was confused to say the least. When he'd gotten the message with coordinates, he hadn't especially expected that it would end with him standing in yet another forest alongside what looked to be his four other Energem-wielding teammates. And for some reason Heckyl. Truthfully the man looked to be the most confused, Riley mumbling something to Shelby as Chase picked at the petals of a flower he seemed to have found and Koda ate a burger; Tyler was not sure where the caveman got a burger, he just had a burger and looked to be rather happily eating it.

“Does anyone have any idea why we're here?” the red finally said after a moment, causing both the black and Heckyl to turn to look at him; the former shook his head, the latter shrugged.

“I was just told that it was important and I was to come,” Heckyl said, “Not why though it better be good; I was supposed to be helping RJ with preparing lunch.”

“No worries, Annie and Zack have that covered.” They all recognized the voice and Tyler raised an eyebrow as RJ approached, smiling in his usual friendly way. But there was something in his aura, the way he stood, the way he looked at them that made Tyler freeze up for a moment and his body stiffening slightly. He was reminded of when his mother was about to scold him, but didn't they already do enough of that before? He had apologized for disobeying orders and going to Amber Beach and it seemed to him that things had already been dealt with, and why was the rest of his team and the civilian who saved Lauren there? Something didn't seem right.

“Are you the one who called us here?” Riley asked, tilting his head as he regarded RJ.

“RJ right?” Shelby piped up, “What's this about?”

The violet wolf just continued to smile, sincere, sweet. And completely disarming, even as he moved far too fast for any of them to catch, striking out and knocking Koda to his feet. The others gasped and Shelby let out a shout; Tyler rushed to Koda's side, seeing the caveman looking rather shaken and Heckyl with a frown stepped towards RJ. “What was that-”

The statement was cut short; the blue haired man found himself quickly on the ground as well and RJ hardly seemed to move. There was still that friendliness in his eyes but there was something else as well and he turned to the still standing individuals, including Chase who had quickly gotten to his feet as his team's blue was brought to his knees.

“A Ranger's son, a caveman, a skater, a ranch hand who is pretty good with a sword, a girl who loves dinosaurs,” he said and there was no malice at all to his voice, “I mean, there's been more mix-matched teams in the past but barely I think.”

“Is that what this is about? You're upset about our team?” Shelby shakily asked.

He blinked in surprise. “Upset? No, no of course not Shelby. I'm not upset at all.”

“Then why did you just dropkick Koda?!” Tyler exclaimed, unsure how to understand this when he had always known the man as being rather friendly and sweet.

“Because he's probably the most physically powerful of you and he still seems pretty weak.” His words were still so kind but they cut deep; none of them answered and he continued, “Most teams have the benefit of learning at their own paces; there's always dangers but none as much as now. You have more than Sledge and his monsters to worry about; you have enemy Rangers to go up against, the surviving Nighloks, the military, a lot to have to deal with, and you need to be ready quickly. Luckily I specialize in training cubs; when my team came to me they were still so young and in so many ways inexperienced. Why, Casey couldn't even use his nunchuks at first, and you should have seen the disaster that was our perfectionist Theo.”

“So....you brought us here to train us?” Chase said carefully, to which the mentor nodded.

Heckyl frowned as he got back up. “And I'm here because....?”

RJ looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I like you. And I can sense great potential in you, the wild spirit of an ocelot. I figured since I planned on doing some training with Tyler and his team, I might as well invite you along as well and get you started as well.”

“Thanks I guess?” he answered, unsure how else to respond to that.

“RJ is fast,” Koda finally said and he looked at the other man, “Hits like rampaging mammoth. Looks nothing like mammoth.”

RJ grinned. “I might not look like it but I'm actually pretty strong. I am a Pai Zhua Master after all. Now everyone, shall we get started?”

Tyler looked to the others. He couldn't argue that he didn't need training himself; Abby had made sure he had had karate lessons growing up, giving him the skills to protect himself, but she never wanted him to be a Ranger. She always tried to keep him away from such things and it occurred to him that what he could do was probably nowhere near enough to survive the days to come. And RJ was right; of the group Koda was probably the strongest, with Riley's swords skills making him a distant second. But they were not professionally trained any of them, not as far as he could really tell, and when compared to his mother and to Tommy, to Billy and to Kira, to all the veterans who had fought through fire more times than any but Koda had been alive, they were infants. They needed help and direction; that was perhaps best the job of Kendall or Keeper as their mentors, but the former had her mind elsewhere it seemed and the latter didn't strike him as the type who could really give them physical training. Not like RJ could.

“I'm not really the physical fighter type,” Shelby said raising a hand, “I mean I've never fought before and I just don't know if it really is a good idea.”

“I'm a hotshot, I prefer to stay away from my opponents not right them hand to hand,” Chase chimed in, “Plus I'm more a lover than a fighter.”

“Understandable, both points,” RJ accepted, nodding.

“But we don't have a real choice in this matter do we?” Tyler asked; the violet wolf turned to look at him, “As you said, we're in more danger than any team before us, and we have a lot more riding on our ability to survive and fight back than just defending against our one enemy and his many minions.”

“If I can at least teach you the skills to protect yourselves and survive through the trials before us all, then that will be more than enough for my soul,” RJ answered, an edge of sadness to his voice and eyes, “I want to see you all thrive, including you Heckyl.”

Casey and Theo and Lily and Dom. His team save for Annie were dead. This thought pinged in Tyler's mind and he looked again to the others. None of them were aware of that but based on some of their faces it seemed clear that they could at least guess something bad had happened before.

“Fine,” Heckyl said and crossed his arms, “Let's train then, though don't think I'm going down to fight with the rest of you, potential or not.”

RJ looked at him and said nothing. It caused the man to fidget some. Shelby sighed and Chase, shrugging, dropped the flower stem in his hand before stretching. One by one the five new Rangers got themselves physically ready, causing the mentor to smile brightly and nod before producing a blindfold from his pocket. Tyler stopped and blinked at him.

“Good good, glad you've all agreed. Now then, your first task my young new cubs....is to attack me~” He tied the cloth over his eyes, causing plenty of confused noises.

“While you're blinded?”

“As I once told a pair of cubs just a bit more experienced than you, eyesight is a bonus, not a necessity. Now come on, give me your best, unmorphed of course; I need to check your base abilities, my dear dudes and dudette.”

RJ folded his hands behind his back and Tyler glanced at his teammates; was this really okay? Was this really a good idea? Koda seemed unperturbed and rushed at RJ, trying to knock him down only for the master to move gracefully, evading an attack he had no way of seeing. The caveman ran right into a tree, almost knocking it over.

Shelby yelped but beside her Riley let out a battle cry and armed with a large branch he seemed to have picked up from the forest ground, he tried striking RJ. This too failed and RJ simply ducked, causing Riley to miss before sweeping the young man's feet out from under him. AT the same moment Chase moved in, attempting a punch only to have his hand grabbed and arm twisted before being pushed back. Heckyl looked at Tyler who shrugged and threw himself in as well, trying to be as quiet as possible. But leaves crunched and even with getting close, it seemed far than enough to actually take the wolf master by surprise.

“Heckyl, you haven't tried anything yet,” RJ spoke and used Chase to block another attempt by Koda to attack him.

“No, I'm just taking in all the information I can before I do,” he answered, watching as Riley took a few steps back, holding the makeshift sword with both hands.

Heckyl's words made the wolf smile and he chuckled. “Smart, though if you never do anything, how can you possible collect the information about yourself? A cat that only bathes in the sun will never know what it means to be wet.”

“You...are really weird, RJ.”

“I am simply the most zen you will ever know. Now come, ocelot; show me what your wildcat spirit can do.”

It was hard to tell how much time had passed but it was starting to get dark as the last of them fell to the ground, exhausted and beaten. Tyler lay in the grass, panting hard and groaning as every muscle in his body ached and quaked. The blindfold test had only really lasted a few minutes in the end, none of them managing to land a hit on the master and he liked to think that all six now understood why RJ was a Pai Zhua Master and mentor to his team. Save for a few foot sweeps, he had never attacked, never struck back; he had taken the attacks and maneuvers, assessing them with each movement, every strike. And after he'd ended up, taking off his blindfold, he had started in on giving them all sorts of different tasks. Shelby and Riley had been told to climb trees from jumping from branch to branch, being told to do so while switching trees with each jump. Tyler got told to go try and find all the rocks of the same same and color from the nearby river and bring them one by one to a spot near where they had arrived, while Chase was forced to try and knock down Koda using only his feet, the caveman having to balance on one foot while this happened.

Heckyl of course seemed to have gotten the worse task though in terms of what Tyler thought; the well dressed man groaned as he was thrown to the ground once more, trying to catch his breath as he lay in the dirt. RJ had him fighting him, again; Heckyl alone had to continue to deal with fighting RJ and Tyler wasn't sure why. He wasn't a Ranger, he didn't have the physical upgrades of the Energems behind him, and he certainly didn't seem to do too well. But RJ had insisted and when the man collapsed, the wolf master froze for a moment before offering a hand to help him up.

“I think that's enough for today, don't all of you?” RJ sounded way too chipper; maybe the man was actually evil, maybe he was really a villain. Tyler didn't really believe that but he could easily guess that the others were thinking it.

“My legs hurt,” Shelby whined, rubbing her feet.

“Dude, your legs hurt? Try hitting the brick wall that is Koda over and over,” Chase answered with a groan.

“I am sorry,” Koda said to Chase who only waved it off.

“You're a sadist aren't you?” Heckyl asked as RJ helped him up.

“No, just a tough teacher, but you all did well,” he answered and checked the sky, “Dinnertime should be soon; let's get back before the others worry.”

“Wait, dinner?! We started before lunch!” This didn't really get an answer and with complaints of pain and groans, the seven of them teleported back to the Megaship. The five Rangers hobbled towards the cafeteria, sore but ultimately not majorly hurt. RJ stopped Heckyl though and smiled, “You look a little pale; I hope I didn't push you too hard.”

“As I said, you're a sadist,” Heckyl said though he found himself finding it hard not to smile; reaching up to adjust his goggles he winced, feeling a wave of pain through him as he touched a rather sore spot on the back of his head. Pulling back his hand he saw blood and frowned.

“Heckyl, are you bleeding?”

“I seem to have hit my head on the ground when I fell last.”

“Go to the infirmary, get that treated before it get bad; I'll make sure to save you some food.” Heckyl opened his mouth to argue but RJ had patted his shoulder a few times before rushing off and leaving him alone.

The alien frowned. It was bad enough RJ had dragged him along but now he was injured; of course he'd heal soon enough probably but it wasn't a bad idea he supposed to pretend. Sighing he started down the hallway. He'd never been to the infirmary before, he never had a reason to enter before, but he knew the way from seeing it on his way to Kendall's lab where the Energems were occasionally; he'd yet to get enough time alone with them to be able to steal them, they were more often with their chosen then in their little makeshift cradles, but at least he knew.

The door was open and from his immediate examination it seemed empty. Ish. He first saw the man in the bed next to the door; Heckyl vaguely remembered talk of him, the others called him Anton, a friend of Tommy's. There was another man in a cryo capsule and he took note of the two women sleeping as well.

Well, specifically one of them. His heart stopped for a moment and all the pain he'd been in, all the aches, all the scrapes and the wound on his head, time itself no longer existed. He must have been knocked unconscious in that last fall, or maybe he was delirious from everything that had happened during the training. There was no way this was real, there was no conceivable chance that this was actually what was before him.

The outlaw remembered things he'd long since pushed to the back of his mind, things he had forced himself to forget, because to remember them was to remember the ache that came with them. And the utter betrayal and the anger he'd felt that one day when he'd learned of what had happened. He remembered and the words slipped out before he could stop them. A soft, sad plea, for something once precious.

“Astronema.....my.....my Pretty Princess....”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This was written while listening to I'll Make a Man out of You and Lesson Number One on repeat interchangeably. It was born of listening to the former the other day and realizing that I wanted to write RJ training the Dino Charge kids and Heckyl.
> 
> The reveal in the end is gonna be important. And maybe in the future we'll see more happen. But we can only wait and see with that. As for the main stuff, RJ is my favorite mentor (what, you mean you aren't surprised?) and I feel while Keeper is a good mentor, Kendall isn't really ready to be a mentor to them and especially with everything going on RJ is very much the one who would do this kind of thing.
> 
> Hopefully this wasn't too good and the next piece won't come so quick I promise; I'm going back to working on the actual proper chapters now for RI. Until next time though remember: kudos are love, comments are appreciated. And bye-bi!~)


	5. A Little Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oneshot from sometime after Chapter 12
> 
> Genre: Fluff
> 
> Four people just sit, eat pizza and talk about the past.

“Who's older, you or Merrick?” This question came, as many did, in the middle of lunch when half the team was doing something other than eating. Kira had managed to corral Trent into the cafeteria, a difficult act as the white more often tried to find somewhere lonely to be if not haunt the hallways, and the two Dino Thunder ended up sitting with the two Wild Force at a table. Lunch was pizza, as it was as often as Annie was unable to stop RJ from making it, and Trent chewed on a slice of pineapple and banana as Kira asked her question.

Merrick, trying to eat an entire meatlovers pizza by himself, glanced at his sister and Ileana put down her slice of vegetarian before speaking, “Merrick is, by a few minutes.”

“A few minutes?” Kira asked.

Trent swallowed and raised an eyebrow. “Wait, are you telling us that the two of you...are twins?”

“Is that honestly so hard to believe?” Merrick asked, stilling eating and his sister pulled his ear, making him yelp, “Ow, Lana, that hurt.”

“You may have mainly been raised by Wolf but that doesn't make you a wild animal, brother; swallow before you talk,” she scolded; Merrick did as she told him and she sighed, “Yes, we are twins; Merrick is slightly older but we're the same age.”

“That still makes you my adorable little sister,” Merrick commented and grinned as she gave him a look.

“Were you both raised by your Zords?” Trent asked seeming actually interested in this conversation.

Ileana shook her head. “Not...exactly; Merrick's a weird case. Wolf didn't have a chosen for a long time and he was found to be compatible while we were both young; our parents allowed him to be taken in to train among the other warriors and live with his Wild Zord but it wasn't for a while longer until it was discovered I was Cheetah's chosen.”

“So they separated you?” Kira frowned at the thought of that; even if they were chosen, even if it was for a good reason, it didn't seem right to separate twins like that. Especially with how protective she had seen Merrick and Ileana be over each other; Merrick had almost infiltrated the NASADA building on his own after all in hopes of retrieving her and his hatred for Jason Scott obviously stemmed entirely from the treatment of his sister.

At this Merrick laughed. “Separate us? Nothing short of Zen-Aku's curse was able to do that. Even after I started training I spent much of my time with Lana and after she was found to be chosen as well we continued to spend time together. She is my sister and save for my devotion to Princess Shayla and loyalty to Animaria, nothing was more important than my family to me.”

“I used to drag Merrick to our mother whenever he got too roughed up in his training,” Ileana said with a fond sort of smile, “He used to pout so much as she tended to his wounds; she was a healer, one of the best in all the kingdom.”

“Father was so proud when it turned out we were both destined to be great protectors of Animaria, though he worried a lot about what kind of mischief we could get into together,” Merrick said chuckling.

Trent laughed. “You two? Mischief? I have a hard time believing either of you would do anything inappropriate.”

“Then maybe I should tell you about the time Merrick threw mud at Princess Shayla and got scolded til his ears turned red,” Ileana said, “Or when he tricked Aristani, the Red Lion, into thinking he'd gotten kidnapped by Orgs and caused her to lead the other Ancient Warriors on a wild goose chase?”

“I only did that once and it was because Karis would not stop picking me up and throwing me places; it was more to teach him a lesson than Ari,” Merrick grumbled with some indignation.

“The Blue Shark did always seem to enjoy watching you struggle but then again if maybe you didn't interrupt him and Rowan's time alone you wouldn't have gotten thrown all the time, brother.”

Both Trent and Kira just listened as the two went on, accounting various events of their past. Kira realized that there was a lot they didn't know about each other, and about the pasts of the other Rangers. Tommy's video diary only told so much but here they were, sitting and eating while two individuals who had been born and lived thousands of years ago told them of their escapades in a place Kira only knew of through that same diary. It was fascinating but more than anything it was nice to see Ileana and Merrick smile and be jovial, remembering their past and happier times.

But in the end it was really just a nice little break from all the darker things that they had all seen their life become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This was spawned by a thought and then conversation with my friend who has Lana as her muse. I actually realized I never noted that Merrick and Ileana are supposed to be twins, but once I realized that I knew I couldn't just drop it in out of nowhere.
> 
> Thus this oneshot. Just a fluffy, very short piece where the two talk to Trent and Kira (who need more fluff in their lives) and recount some stuff. The names of the Ancient Warriors are my own personal headcanon, having nothing to do with anything but the fact I needed names for them.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed~)


	6. Into the Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oneshot set during Chapter Twenty of The Ranger's Initiative
> 
> Genre: Action, Hurt/Comfort
> 
> Heckyl ran into the fire; what did he see? Why did he bring back Fury? Answers are given, even to questions not asked.

Heckyl was no hero and he never pretended to be one; best he did was pretend to be a normal human. But protecting lives, saving people, defeating “evil”, this did not interest him. The Energems did, the restoration of his memories and the chance to be separated from the monster inside him did. Freedom to be himself and to see his princess smile again was what he wanted; getting close to the Renegades was only supposed to be a means to an ends, to get to the Energems as well as maybe also steal the other powerful totems of Morphing Power that they held.

Yet there he was because of it, running into a burning building in search of a small girl who he already knew had given them the Energem they had come down to Zandar for. Yet when he had seen the golden stone flying through the air, when it finally hit him what had happened and why, he found his feet moving already and thought was not nearly fast enough to stop him or them. Heckyl of course still heard the voices of the others behind him, confused, scared, but he'd passed through the flames already and while physically he could always turn back, a voice in his head that wasn't Snide told him to keep going. A voice that somehow he felt he couldn't disobey; it sounded so much like his own.

It did occur to him he didn't know where to go; much of the building was already destroyed, the stairs crumbling more and more with each passing moment. He winced as the fires suddenly expanded inches from his face, causing him to lift a hand to try to shield himself and step back; more protection would have been a good idea, he should have let a Ranger in their protective spandex go in instead.

“Too late to regret now,” he muttered wholly to himself and pulled his goggles over his eyes and his jacket closer around himself.

 _'Heckyl you fool! If you get us killed...!'_ Snide yelled and the man brushed it off.

“I don't plan on dying here, Snide; now shut up so I may concentrate.” More growls and grumbles, none of which he was much for entertaining. Let the monster complain; Heckyl was sure he'd be fine. Probably.

He was no acrobat and part of him was concerned by the state of things around him in the moment. More bursts of flame forced him forward and he started down a hallway in hopes of finding some other way upstairs; portraits lining the walls were already turning to ash on either side of him, the paint turning to blackness before his eyes. A twinkle of light caught his eye, and though his conscious brain tried to dismiss it as simply one of countless in a sea of heat and brightness, he was drawn in by it. There it was and he followed after it without a second thought to the affair. Heckyl really wasn't thinking much though was he?

The light seemed to float and the flames were left behind as he wandered into what looked to be older sections, made of stone and earth rather than brick and wood, full of old and chill. The contrast left him momentarily stunned but he shook and Snide yelled. _'What the hell are you doing?!'_

“I thought I told you to shut up,” Hecklyl answered testily.

The section lead to a kitchen of some age, full of wares and food; it obviously was still in use, an appealingly sweet scent catching his attention but he did his best to ignore it. There were more important things in the moment; the place seemed to have been abandoned in a hurry, likely when the fire started. High windows lined one wall but they looked far too small for anyone to have made use of to escape, meaning based on a quick and cursory glance around the only way out was the same way he'd come.

In other words an useless dead end. The light was gone now and he was left to wonder if maybe it had been simply a hallucination, and that he had just wasted precious time following his imagination. There was just a mess of a life rudely interrupted and grumbling he turned to leave; maybe if he hurried he might still find a way upstairs to where Lyta was. Or should be at least; he had a general sense of where to go but he had no idea about this place and she could have moved to try to find somewhere safe in the meanwhile, maybe not even expecting to be saved.

His thought were broken by a sudden crash and he nearly jumped at the sound. Dust billowed from another wall and closer examination revealed that it wasn't a complete wall but a shuttered opening instead, blended in. Or had until a mess of metal and wood had come down and Lyta came scrambling out, looking more scared than hurt though there was still a defiant glint in her eyes. She saw Heckyl and she opened her mouth to say something. Instead she screamed as a clawed hand grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and picked her up. Two glowing yellow-orange eyes glowered at Heckyl from a lion-like face and the inmate again felt sparks fly from his hands, though this time he did nothing to restrict his powers.

Finding Fury there was as close to being an actual misfortune as it could get; the monstrous second in command had been way for a long time but his time on earth didn't seem to have made him any softer. Heckyl of course hadn't met him face to face before, he had been captured while Fury was stuck on Earth, but he like many had heard of the troublesome cat warrior. And from what he'd heard, the name Fury was very apropos.

“Help me!” And there was the other problem; part of him was relieved that Lyta had been found, or rather found him, but it was more than annoying that she just had to attract Fury's attention and now she was a liability.

“Bring me the Energem or I'll kill the brat,” Fury growled and drawing his sword he placed it against her throat.

Heckyl scoffed and shook his head, taking in an internal breath before stepping towards him. He smirked, did his best to seem as intimidating as possible; honestly he was thankful for the chance to be himself for a moment. He let the sparks grow and lash out around him, causing metallic pots and pans to jump and throw themselves about in the air. Fury seemed unimpressed but Lyta was staring in fascination.

 _'You can't scare an infant,'_ Snide laughed and Heckyl did his best to ignore him.

“What exactly about me makes you think I care about one little human girl?” the outlaw mused and with the slightest flick of his wrist he sent an electroblast at Fury, causing him to jump back but not release the princess; behind his goggles Heckyl narrowed his eyes, “Way I see it she's a liability for you; just makes it all the easier for me to put you down like the rabid feline you are.”

“If you can even do it.” The cat warrior snarled and tried attacking Heckyl in return. Of course though that only played right into his plan, still being formed with each passing second; Heckyl dodged easily enough, taking mental note of the small hesitation and the three or four extra seconds Fury spent off center after his attack before finally righting himself. Fury was an experienced fighter, one of the best in Sledge's crew or so the stories went, but much of movements seemed sloppy and slow. Heckyl suddenly thought of RJ and the wolf teacher's hard but calculated strikes; nothing there was wasted, every thing done deliberately to an effort. RJ didn't blindly strike out and even with handicaps he seemed to have enough experience to know how to make use of any situation. In comparison to the swift strikes that had laid not only Heckyl but all of the Dino Charge, and more than a few other Renegades, flat on their asses, Fury might as well have been standing still. Heckyl allowed himself a small chuckle, these thoughts continued to run through his mind as he side stepped and sent two more blasts at his enemy, directing one larger one at Fury's chest, a smaller more precise one at the hand holding onto Lyta. The closeness of the strikes left the cat with no options for escape and he grunted as he took the first, getting knocked back; the second sent shocks through his hand and arm, forcing his grip to loosen and the girl to fall to the ground with a thud. Among a sea of kitchenware Lyta sat there for a time, her hair lightly electrified, and she blinked even as Heckyl motioned with his head for her to more. It took time before it sunk in but once it did she scrambled to escape again, this time succeeding in evading Fury's attempts to straight up cut her in half with his sword; she scurried into a corner not as easily accessible for him thanks to the mess and Heckyl took the opportunity to remind Fury of what he was doing. Namely fighting Heckyl: another blast to the back seemed like the proper way to do so and he looked slightly amused as Fury yelped.

“Hey kitty cat, I'm pretty sure your opponent is over here.” That certainly drew his attention and with a loud enraged roar he rushed Heckyl. The outlaw chuckled again and moved again to get out of the way, amusing himself with avoiding Fury's attacks.

What he didn't expect was to get shocked as well but it was already too late when he caught sight of Fury's sword, crackling with energy now, seconds before it narrowly swiped by him. But close enough for the electricity coming off it to hit Heckyl and damn did it hurt. He had been hit by attacks before, by all sorts of people; RJ had made contact more times than Heckyl really was confortable with admitting to, and often he wondered if the wolf really was human. Fury was definitely one of the more powerful enemies he had fought, though he was slow and feral in his actions; Heckyl had underestimated him based on that and that had been a major mistake.

Heckyl fell to his knees, feeling the foreign energy roil and course through his body. He had to take a while, during which Fury tried striking again with his massive sword and he just barely collected himself enough to roll out of the way of the attack. Once he finished through he brought together all the energy, converted it and sent it back out at Fury, his expression half disgusted and half outraged. The cat blocked with his sword and roared angrily, raising his sword to attack again.

“Die bug!” Fury snarled and Heckyl opened his mouth to make a snarky comment.

Except his constant bigger issue decided now to be the time to be much more of a literal pain in the neck than figurative. He couldn't do two of them at the same time. He could not focus on keeping Snide at bay when the monster wanted out and deal with Fury too, as much as Heckyl loved to try to tell himself he could. The inner monster fought to try to get out, taunting the outlaw the whole while, and the outer irritation swung down; he had a split second to decide. And unfortunately it was a no-brainer.

He rolled out of the way once more and let his focus break. Snide took control and the monstrous warrior brandished his own sword. He did not miss a second of time; he started to attack Fury, blades clashing and more energy went flying around them. It wasn't particularly the easiest place to have a sword fight, in the middle of a stone kitchen, but they seemed to manage it and Heckyl floated in the space of his own consciousness annoyed.

 _'Be careful you fool!'_ he yelled as Snide threw Fury towards an oven that of course ended up crumbling under the warrior's weight.

“It's your turn to shut up,” retorted the monster and as Fury charged him he struck in return, bringing his blade down on him.

Heckyl scoffed. _'You never listen when I tell you to so why should I listen when you do?'_

He could tell that if they cooperated this could be smoother. Heckyl and Snide had a natural advantage in this terrain, in that while Snide wasn't especially small, he was still at least somewhat sleeker still and more agile than Fury was. As messy and confined as the kitchen was, it was less suited for a bulky figure like Fury. And with his brains, Heckyl was sure he could make a good plan for dealing with this even with the annoyances that came with depending on Snide. But the monster never listened and he never would; Heckyl's plans were never good enough and Snide's were far too aggressive. There was a reason he worked so hard to keep the other side constantly under control; he didn't trust him and it went both ways. Two minds with only that in common.

 _'Move you idiot; use the area to your advantage more! Didn't you learn anything from me fighting him?!'_ Heckyl yelled; he could try at least.

“Shut up, I know what's I'm doing! You couldn't even injury him!” Snide snarled and sent an energy blast through his sword, leaving no room for escape for Fury. It made contact of course but Fury seemed unwilling to just fall; the two continued to clash, more violently than before now and Heckyl could only watch it all unfold. He very much hated when the other monster managed to take control; on the ship was an annoyance, and always brought the fear of discovery. He was always on his guard because of it; even centuries after that first time, from the foggy memories he had of the beginning, he always had to be aware and focused. Or this happened, or else he ended up a prisoner in what was his body.

If nothing else though he supposed he could admit that Snide was a capable fighter, more than enough to deal with Fury. Even without listening to anything Heckyl said, like usual, he was beyond holding his own against the cat, striking with hard attacks, both with energy and with just the sword. But both seemed to just be shrugging off the attacks and it didn't escape Heckyl's attention how the cat seemed to be losing his cool with each successive attack against him. He struck more violently and haphazardly, causing massive damage around them, and while Heckyl was certain Snide heard it too, only he probably paid much mind to the screams coming from Lyta. And only he felt the tinge of regret and anger that followed it, both at Fury and at his foolish other half.

_'Snide, you need to stop playing around and finish him off already.'_

“What do you think I'm doing?!” Another wave of attacks, another hit, another shake, another attempt to fight more. Fury seemed to be almost too stubborn to fall and the growls and roars were getting more wild by the second. Snide clenched his sword tighter, well aware that he was facing a wild animal now; quite the irritating situation Heckyl had gotten them into.

He scoffed. Heckyl honestly did not like what this was setting up to. Fury was practically feral and neither warrior seemed concerned by collateral damage, including to the little girl also hiding in the room. The one Heckyl had come into fire to find. Snide needed to end this but he seemed almost to be enjoying this fight and Fury was refusing to die. It was frustrating to Heckyl and he wanted to scream. Though he knew it could do nothing.

“Maybe then I can be of help.” The voice was unfamiliar, a male's who came from somewhere. Fury seemed to hear it too, looking around only to be slammed over the head with something large and blunt that caused him to howl in pain and annoyance.

A boy stood behind him and as he wobbled the boy proceeded to hit him again with the strange black axe in his hands. Over and over again, every time Fury made a noise or moved the boy hit him, until finally, as if his body had managed to run out of the energy that had kept him going thusfar, he fell like a ton of bricks to the ground unconscious. The boy looked used to such things and he wore ill-fitting clothes, a ratty cloak that hung over his shoulders. Something in him reminded Heckyl of Zack; he immediately made him think of Zack and he wasn't sure why.

“Who are you?” Snide was wary and pointed his sword at the boy, causing him to turn to look at the monstyer.

“We can't have a civil conversation if you're going to threaten me with a sword; that's not very friendly.” His tone was calm but there seemed to be a tinge of sadness to it that hurt Heckyl's heart.

Though that pain could also have been whatever made Snide scream and at the same time he felt a sense of warmth and pinpricks that ran through him before the two again switched positions. Heckyl stood there, panting, feeling more tired than he really expected. It was instinct that made him turn his head to look beside him.

She he recognized, even if only as the other sleeping woman in the infirmary. Except she wasn't asleep and she was glowing and floating off the ground. Crimson eyes met bright blue and she raised an eyebrow at him before shaking her head. She smiled and spoke in a soft tone, _“You look stunned.”_

“You're-” he started.

She lifted a hand to stop him. _“Not important right now. You should get out of here, grab the girl and get out of here before you get trapped in here. Or did you forget about the fire and the collapsing building?”_

Okay he sort of had, though he sure as hell didn't plan on admitting that. The outlaw turned to the boy who nudged Fury with his foot. “Might as well take this one with you.”

“Through the fire?” Heckyl asked eyebrow raised.

“ _The others might find use for him,”_ she said then stopped before continuing, _“No, strike that; they'll definitely have some use for him.”_

Heckyl looked around and found Lyta again, among mess and debris; he extracted her, picking her up into his arms. She clung tight, so tiny and scared. He turned to look to the boy and woman then back at Fury. He was Sledge's righthand monster, he knew things possibly and while torture might not be in the Renegades' list of acceptable activities, well, Heckyl wasn't really a Renegade was he?

He stepped forward and balancing the princess with one arm he grabbed the cat with the other, grunting at the weight of him as he dragged him. Oh this was going to be fun.

“What about you?” he asked the boy, getting a light friendly smile in return.

“Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.” There was something secret in his eyes, convincing Heckyl not to ask more; he glanced over to the woman but neither spoke a word to each other. Instead he took a deep breath and started out again into the fire.

Moments passed before one of the two left behind spoke, and it was the woman. _“Are you sure you don't want to go with them, Adam?”_

Tsuki looked at the boy beside her, examining him carefully. Time had passed but the Grid cared not; before her was in many ways the same Adam who she'd known so long ago, his face kind, his mannerism still tinged by the awkwardness of a teenager dragged into a world he had not been prepared for. His eyes through betrayed some of the time and as he turned to her she could see the sadness this situation inflicted on him. On them both, on everyone.

It took him extra time to find his smile again but he shook his head with it, slow and deliberate. “No, I don't think that would be for the best.”

“ _Because of Rocky?”_

“Because I don't want to pick sides in this ridiculous war.”

She nodded though it still made her feel sad; she offered a hand to him and he looked at it. Her own smile was gentle. _“Billy and Abby and Tommy and me, we all miss you. But I understand and so do they.”_

He continued to stare letting time tick by before finally finding what words he seemed to be looking for. “Does...does it feel weird?”

“ _There's a part of me that feels that I can see everything and parts that feel so very trapped in one place and disconnected. But I don't need the Grid to know an old friend's heart, especially since you've always seemed to wear yours on your sleeve. It's one of your most enduring traits.”_

He chuckled some and placed his hand in hers; it was solid and warm but at the same time felt almost like it wasn't there. Then again he knew it couldn't be; he knew she wasn't there, Tsuki's body laying somewhere far away. He couldn't help but think for a moment how she too was just another victim of this war. The sacrifice to the Grid, willing or not.

“I'm going to continue to do what I have to, what I feel is right for me. Even if it means not seeing my friends again yet, even if it means sticking to the shadows. I can't fight any of you though, I don't want to; please understand.”

She shook her head. _“I already say we do. I promise Adam, one day this will all be over and just be a bad memory, a nightmare that we will all awaken from. Until that day though, you do what you must and we will do the same. Just remember that we're always here for you.”_

“I know, Tsuki,” he said feeling the familiar sensation of a teleportation, the glow of the Grid around them preparing to take them away; the tired wanderer closed his eyes for a moment, even knowing that when he opened them again he'd be alone and elsewhere, that the spirit would return to her own place, “I know....”

Heckyl wasn't happy with the way the flames were licking at his clothes and in his escape he found the path out to be far less clear than it was going in. More had collapsed and with him having to try to drag Fury through it all, over and through obstacles in their way, it seemed all the more annoying. Even if it was fun to listen to him grunt as Heckyl “accidentally” knocked him against fallen beams.

He held Lyta closer and could hear her coughing, driving him to move even faster. Each breath was getting more difficult for him as well and he was acutely aware that even he was not going to likely last much longer with all the smoke; his lungs were starting to burn, his body begging for clean air that was not there. His feet kept moving though, second by second, inch by inch; a burst broke a supporting beam to the castle, bringing down much of the upper floor. Heckyl dropped Fury temporarily and drawing Lyta tight he focused as much of his energy as he could into his hand before blasting the debris coming down on them. It broke and he coughed hard, wheezing before grabbing hold of the cat warrior once more and forcing his legs to start to run. He had to get outside, he had to.

By the time he was finally clear he was exhausted, couldn't breathe and could barely make out the sounds of speaking as his legs finally let him collapse. He dropped Fury but his mind made him keep holding to Lyta: Don't Drop The Girl pounded through his head and he felt hesitant even as he felt someone try to take her. But the outlaw barely had the energy to keep himself conscious, not to mention fight.

RJ's voice, gentle and kind, managed to make some sense and Heckyl felt him pull his goggles off him. He could only think to ask how Lyta was doing, if she was okay while trying to clear his own lungs and take in the fresh clear air; what a shame it would be for his act of stupidity to be for naught. The coughing hurt, the consciousness hurt, he just wanted rest. But Billy tried to be assuring and Kendall seemed surprised to see Fury and it occurred to him finally that everyone was alive. Everyone had been saved, alive, safe, and he'd helped. Heckyl had helped.

 _'Fool.'_ Snide scoffed and the pain of change came again, sharp and running through his veins. He didn't want this, he didn't want to change, not there, not then, not everything he'd done, not after everything he suffered. He put everything he had into pushing the monster down and felt RJ pull him close, enclose the outlaw in his arms, and as he spoke Heckyl knew that the wolf knew.

 _Fuck you Snide_ , he thought to himself before passing out, dragging the monster into the darkness of slumber with him. If he still got loose then they could handle it but at the very least he'd made one last effort to keep it from happening.

Heckyl had never wanted to be a hero. But it didn't mean that in one golden moment he wasn't one. For one minute he wasn't a monster, he wasn't an outlaw, he wasn't Snide. He was Heckyl and he'd helped save everyone; he'd helped save the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (So it's been a long time since Tsuki was seen huh? I wrote this to show what Heckyl did while inside the palace and answer some questions that RI brings up. Namely how he managed it and why he brought Fury back with him. Tsuki's spirit state is a means to an end in a way but it has some importance. As does the appearance of one of my favorite softies Adam.
> 
> It occurred to me that he hadn't been accounted for and I wanted to rectify that. Adam is currently the only free agent Ranger, ie the only one who is not on the side of the Renegades or the government. I wanted to make it clear his reasoning: that he doesn't want to fight his friends, does not believe doing so is the right thing, and won't involve himself in doing so. The only ones as of now who are aware of his current status are now Heckyl (who does not know who he is thus does not know the importance of what he witnessed) and Tsuki (who knows through her currently odd connection to the Grid). I've decided to lovingly call this version of Adam the Wanderer as that is what he is.
> 
> Anyho hopefully this wasn't too bad; I'm working on the next chapter of RI right now, hopefully it will be up soon. Until next time tho remember: kudos are love, comments are appreciated. And bye-bi!~)


	7. Day of the Spider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble set sometime before Chapter 10 of Ranger's Initiative
> 
> Genre: General
> 
> A snippet of a day in the life of the chessmaster.

“Senator Morgan?” Astor was lost in thought, fingers tapping away at his chin as he stared down at the chess board set up in his office. The voice, though it did register somewhere, did not register in any importance and he hummed softly, reaching out to pick up one of the pieces.

To the average observer the board looked as if a game was in progress, pieces shattered across with purpose known only to players. Who his opponent was, he would simply smile to that; why he seemed so interested in it, that he would laugh at, albeit gently, and simply say “because I like chess”. That was an understatement; that was a part of the truth but not the full truth.

The voice spoke again and he hummed lightly before turning his head and regarding the door with a calm expression; one of his interns was standing there, peeking in and looking uncertain, a common enough thing. Of no use to him but common. He smiled, reassuringly, gently, and the young man relaxed, of course he did, and Astor spoke in his smooth tones, “Yes Jacob?”

“Um we have the newest reports of success for the Act,” Jacob said took a deep breath before walking over, holding out a folder of papers.

Astor raised an eyebrow then took it, “I see. Anything of interest?” He flipped through the papers, still holding the piece as he did so.

“There have been found to be more teams than previously known,” the young man said, “More are popping up, some we never even imagined. And as for those known, we have agents everywhere but-”

“But no success?” he asked raising an eyebrow and Jacob shied away; Astor smiled again, “It’s fine; I didn’t expect it to even get this far so quickly. How is the search for you know what?”

The man paled and he started to stutter, “Th-th-that i-is, uh, um, I-I-I-I’m s-sorry...”

Astor sighed and closed the files; of course, it wouldn’t be that easy to find. He nodded. “That is all, Jacob; you may leave now.”

Jacob nodded quickly and rushed out, leaving the young senator alone again. He looked at the file folder again before setting it on his desk, letting out another sigh; his eyes fell upon the chess piece in his hand and a smile crossed his lips. No, not a smile, a smirk; he hummed gently as he twirled it around in his fingers, watching it with rapt attention.

“Oh well,” Astor said softly, to himself, meant only for himself, “We can’t hide forever, now can we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Found this while looking over old stuff on my tumblr account; this was written for the roleplay version of RI (yes there was a plan for that originally) but I modified this slightly to fit better with the fanfiction version of events.
> 
> Hope you enjoy~)


	8. The Lioness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Ranger's Initiative Chapter 21
> 
> Genre: General
> 
> To describe her is like to taste of poisoned honey. It's sweet but will always deal in death.

A glass shattered and everyone shuddered. It was not an abnormal things for things to get a bit hectic, it was a senator's office but more importantly it was Katina van Dran's office and as one of the Important Ones, things happened, a lot of things happened. A lot of things were constantly, always, endlessly happening.

But this was different because for a second in time things froze and everyone in the room was struck with the understand of what pure fear felt like, the sensation of being prey in the territory of a hungry predator. And they understood why she was the sole entity, the one person in the entirety of the Senate who could regularly go up to Astor Morgan and speak to him. Because Astor was charming with the sense of a spider laughing at the stupid flies who wander into his web, but Katina was a sleek lioness who could kill you faster than your mind could move.

So again the glass shattered and everyone shuddered; the man who brought the news froze stiff, staring with wide eyes like a deer as she stood up, ever so elegantly, ever so smoothly, from her chair and approached him, ignoring the stain steadily settling into the beautiful antique rug, the broken glass that now littered the floor. Her footsteps were not hurried, there was no sense of rush to her, but the way her eyes watched him made him swallow a cry and she smiled in a wholly unfriendly way.

“Care to repeat that?” she said smoothly, the words rolling off her tongue.

He shook and had to try to force himself to concentrate, to not show her fear. Because something primal told him that that only made her amused, or angry, his mind couldn't decide which it was. “Prince Phillip of Zandar has declared his nation allied to the Renegade Rangers and formally declared that any attack against them-”

She didn't have a glass in hand, he wasn't sure how another one managed to fall to the ground but the sound of it shattering made him jump and he cursed himself his weakness and fear.

This was not good. For months they had been fighting to capture the fugitive Power Rangers Renegades and for months it had been in many ways a losing war; in truth there were many who found the actions of the two Senators in trying to apprehend them more than a little unsavory. Some argued they were still humans, they were still largely American citizens, and some even questioned the motives and plots of the two. Neither seemed to care, anymore than Astor and Katina ever seemed to care ultimately about the thought processes and opinions of others; they both played their game and they got support, they proved their points with words and actions, and only the ones who were forced to directly engage with them regularly saw the way they seemed to manipulate the world to their ends.

No, not the world; the nation. Zandar had dared to try to stand against them and the messenger feared what disaster that would call down upon them. Katina smiled still and reaching out she almost touched his face, almost, yet he flinched with instinctive fear nevertheless. “Oh don't look so frightened; no wonder Astor can barely get anything done with such easily startled aides such as you. Never mind, I heard you the first time; you may go.”

He breathed a breath he didn't realize he was holding but he didn't immediately move. She seemed not to care, turning her back on him, he no longer was of amusement it seemed, and returning to her desk; perfectly manicured fingers tapped against the wood, a slow faint rhythm of a song only seemed to know. Once his mind reset enough to understand he quickly made his exit, wishing not to stay any longer than absolutely necessary in the den of such a frightening person.

Katina cared not; there were far more important things in her head. The little kingdom of Zandar meant very little to her and even less in the longrun; what could they really do to stop anyone who wanted to come after the Renegades, to stop her? They'd suffer, burn and disappear into nothingness, not even a memory on the wind. But it couldn't be denied that defiance like this irritated her deep down; the Renegades, the protestors, now Zandar and it's royal family. Why couldn't they just understand how much lesser they were and give into her without her having to prove her point?

“If Jason's group hadn't failed in Briarwood then we wouldn't be having this problem,” she could not help but speak aloud; it didn't much matter if anyone heard because most would just think she just meant failing in securing the fugitives. But Briarwood had been defiant too and the people a problem; they were too close to their Rangers, too protective, and too stubborn. And the Renegades themselves, well, anyone not willing to give in and become an useful tool for her to use was best broken.

In truth there were really multiple points at which this issue could have been resolved but wasn't, and now they had a small nation declaring themselves allies to her enemies and still no sign of the thing she was most wanting to gain control over. After all if she could control the Morphing Grid then finally she could break this stupid stalemate with Astor and take full command of things. But people were people and the little things called self preservation and comraderie seemed to like to get in her way.

No matter, she told herself and glancing over the broken glass she took a step and crushed a large piece under her foot. More and more she pressed, crumbling and pressing it into the rug, finding some minor pleasure in the act. This was but a setback; in the end she'd win.

Katina van Dran always won.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Felt like writing a tiny snippet while on my NaNoWriMo induced hiatus. And Katina would not leave me alone)


End file.
